Ratchet and Clank Future: Fatal Attraction
by Hyena with a Pen
Summary: Clank is long gone and Venus has been captured. Now Ratchet stands alone against an evil that even the great Lombax hero may not be able to stop. Second in my Shadows of Time Trilogy.
1. Chapter 1: The Capture

Been a while since I was here last, eh? Seems kind of nostalgic. :)

I apologize, first of all, for how long it took me to finish _The White Tigress_. It should've been done long ago, and I have no excuse for why it took so long.

Now then, I realize that this first chapter is ridiculously short, but it's just the intro. Future chapters will likely be longer.

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><p>Location: Planet Quantos<p>

5th of June

12:35 P.M. local time

It was, once again, a beautiful day. The sun shined down warmly on the jungles outside the Fongoid village. For just a little over a year now, Ratchet had been living with Venus in her little cottage near the outskirts of the settlement.

"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice, you two," a male Fongoid said as the two Lombaxes welcomed him into their humble home. "I wouldn't have come if it weren't urgent."

"No, really, it's not a problem," Venus said warmly. "What's wrong?"

"It's the Zyphoids again… They've infested our crops and gotten completely out of control." Before the Fongoid even finished explaining, Ratchet had grabbed his wrench from where it rested near the door. She looked up at him as he said, "Ready when you are."

"In that case," she began, taking her sword from its sheath at her left hip. "let's go hunt some Zyphoids." The Fongoid smiled at them as they followed him back to the village, where the mutated fungal creatures ran rampantly through the village.

It would be several hours before they finished their work with the infestation. The inhabitants thanked the two graciously when they left. "If nothing else," Venus said as they approached the hill outside the cottage, "that was a nice change from the norm." She was right - ever since the defeat of Zarthon and his army, things had been very calm and peaceful for them. However, scars still remained from their past ordeals, both physical and mental. Ratchet still bore the scar on his chest from the Shraalite that had attacked him during his rescue of Venus from Zarthon's warship as a reminder of the pain he had endured. Venus, too, bore a scar of her own - a burnt-off patch of fur on her left shoulder where she had been shot with the blaster when he tried to save her from the Shraalite ship.

As bad as the physical damage had been, the emotional damage took even more of a toll, especially on Ratchet. Although more than a year had passed since the loss of Clank, he still found himself lying awake some nights thinking about it. Other nights, he suffered terrible nightmares about it, jolting him awake, making it difficult even for Venus to comfort him. As for Venus, she often worried about the monstrous Shadow Hydra sealed within the bead around her neck. More than once, she had wondered whether or not it would somehow escape from its prison, but she did her best to keep that thought from her mind.

Suddenly, as they neared the top of the hill, they heard something coming from the cottage. It sounded as if someone were rummaging around inside, followed by a mechanical clicking noise. They looked at each other, grasping their weapons tightly. She motioned for him to sneak into the thick foliage around the house and go around to the side. He nodded and disappeared into the trees as she extended her wings and silently flew upward toward the cottage.

What she found alarming was that the door had been broken off its hinges. The clicking grew louder and was soon accompanied by a strange whirring sound and the shattering of glass. She looked down to her right, seeing Ratchet peering up at her through the trees. She signaled for him to stay where he was, then slowly descended to a window near the door. Looking carefully through the cloudy glass, she saw many large, dark figures lurking through the inside of the house. Their forms shined metallically, and they had round orange eyes that glowed brightly against their black forms.

After a moment, she ducked down and crawled over to the tree where Ratchet hid. "So?" he said when she finally stood up again. "What is it?"

"I'm not exactly sure," she replied, looking back at the cottage. "Looks like a group of hostiles sifting through the place. I couldn't tell how many, but there's a lot of them in there."

Suddenly, something landed hard next to them. When they turned to face it, they saw a huge gray robot with a pulsating light blue sphere in its chest. Its optics were round and bright orange, and on its head was a pair of antennae with small red lights at their tips. Running down its back were long, black metal spines. In each of its six fingertips was a plasma cannon capable of obliterating just about anything in its path, and on both wrists was a row of three spikes that crackled with electricity. As it looked down at the two, it emitted several different pitched beeping sounds. From out of the cottage, more robots exactly like the one in front of them marched, then even more came from the trees surrounding them.

Reacting quickly, Venus slashed at the robot, cutting it in half. Then, turning to her left, thrust her sword into another. "Venus!" Ratchet cried. "Get out of the way!" She turned around and jumped back just as yet another shot a plasma cannon at her before Ratchet knocked its head off its shoulders with his wrench.

However, no matter how many of the hostile machines they destroyed, more kept appearing from out of the shadowy foliage. "It's no use!" Ratchet said. "There's too many of them!" Even the waves of energy from Venus's sword couldn't keep them at bay for more than a few seconds. By now, her vitality was beginning to wane as her energy-sapping attacks grew weaker and weaker.

Then suddenly, another came from behind, slamming a hand into Ratchet and knocking him into a tree, knocking the air right out of his lungs. He lay on the ground in pain for a moment, eyes shut tight as he gripped his right side in agony. His eyes burst open again when he heard a desperate shriek from Venus. One of the robots had bound her hands behind her back and now had flung her over its shoulder. He tried to get up, but found himself immobilized by the pain surging throughout his body.

"Target acquired," came the voice of the robot who had Venus. "Returning to base."

"Ratchet!" Venus cried just before the multitude of machines disappeared with a flash of light, teleporting back to who-knows-where.

He frantically looked around for a moment as he struggled to his feet. "Venus?" he called. The only response he got was the calling of the birds and the wind rushing through the tree branches. "Venus!" His ears drooped as he realized hat his love wasn't coming back…not on her own, at least.

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><p>Looking forward to working on this! Just a quick little warning: with the school year closing in fast, I may not have much time to update as often as I would like, and that limited time will likely diminish even more once the year actually starts again. However, I will update this as often as I possible can.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Awakening

Can't believe I was up until freakin' 4 o'clock this morning writing this! Then again, I suppose it could've been the energy drink I had at...10 P.M... Stupid Hyena...^^;

Anyway, enjoy!

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><p>Location: Planet Jasindu<p>

12th of September

9:52 P.M. Local Time

After lying still with his eyes closed for a few long moments, the robot finally opened his eyes. At first, his vision was unfocused and his hearing, muffled. Then, as his eyes focused on his surroundings, he found himself surrounded by thick jungle, his auditory receptors filling with the sounds of the hordes of birds and other such creatures that inhabited the dense covert of trees and undergrowth.

Groaning, he sat up and held his head due to lightheadedness. He was ignorant to where he was or how long he had been unconscious. All he knew was that he was alone in a jungle completely defenseless, making for a very bad situation. As groggy as he was, he managed to stagger to his feet and then wandered off into the mysterious wilderness.

For some reason, he found himself looking frantically around at his surroundings with every sound his receptors picked up. He wouldn't usually be this nervous, but then again, he also usually had some inkling of what was going on, or at least where he was.

Suddenly, he heard what almost sounded like a buzz saw, and the sound was rapidly approaching him from the left. The second he looked in that direction, a spiked steel orb about the same size as him came rushing past. He jumped back to dodge it, landing on the overgrown earth hard on his back. As he looked to his right, the orb had stopped and opened up to reveal a small organic life form that turned to face him. It was a Kerchu with the characteristic spherical armor mounted on its shoulders, but it looked slightly different from most. To start with, its fur was a dark brown rather than the usual golden yellow or orange. Its eyes were an astonishing bright green, contrasting greatly with its fur. Its figure was curved softly, indicating a female. The fur on the top of her head was longer than the rest, causing it to spike wildly around the small horn that poked out of her head. She was unusually small, even for a Kerchu - probably about half the size of any other.

He jumped as she dashed toward him, then knelt down beside him and said, "Are you okay?" He tilted his head in bewilderment. How odd it was that she wasn't attacking him. He had found out the hard way that the Kerchu are a fiercely territorial race, so he naturally assumed that she would attack him rather than check to see if he were hurt. Shaking his confusion, he nodded. She exhaled a sigh of relief and continued, "Sorry. I didn't see you there."

"It is…not a problem," the robot stammered as she helped him to his feet. She noticed his puzzled expression (or at least, she assumed it was puzzled…it was hard to tell with robots), and asked simply, "What?"

"Nothing…I just…did not expect a Kerchu to be so…"

"Not territorial?"

"Well…yes."

"I'm definitely one in a billion." She smiled widely, but he wasn't as quick to loosen up. "I take it you've had some bad experiences with my kind, right?"

"You could say that." He paused for a moment before asking, "What is your name?"

"Narima Grall," she replied proudly. "My friends call me Spike." She gleefully pointed up to the sharp spikes of fur atop her head. The robot simply nodded. "What about you? You got a name?"

"Yes, of course." He cleared his throat. "Forgive my lapse in etiquette. My name is Clank." She nodded and shrugged. "Fitting name," she said. "considering what it sounded like when you fell backward." She laughed at her own comment, causing him to utter a small chuckle as well.

After a moment, spike finally dared to ask, "What are you doing out here by yourself, anyway, Clank? It's dangerous for an outsider here at the best of times… Even more so now." He didn't respond to her question; he didn't have an answer. What was he supposed to say? 'I do not know why I am here'?

That's exactly what the robot said after a long moment of contemplation, and the only response he got out of the little Kerchu was a befuddled grunt. "I know it sounds odd," he began hurriedly, "but I just…woke up here. I do not know how long I was unconscious. I am not even sure of where I am…"

"Well, I can help you out with that. You're on Jasindu, just outside Kerchu City."

"But…what are you doing outside the city?"

"I always go for a little stroll around this time. But I have to get going back now." Spike rolled her eyes at her next statement. "We've had a curfew of 10 o'clock for the past few months now." Without another word, the Kerchu turned to her left and began to walk away, leaving a rather puzzled Clank behind. He simply stood there for a moment, considering what he should do next…or at least where to go. He knew he would not likely be well received if he entered Kerchu City unsolicited. On the other hand, he had nowhere else to go and no way to get off the planet.

"Hey! You comin' or what?" came Spike's voice suddenly, jolting him out of his thoughts. He turned to face her no more than ten feet away as she looked over her shoulder at him. "What?" was all he could say in response.

"I told you before," she said, walking back towards him. "it's dangerous to be out here alone. The troops constantly patrol the perimeter of the city after curfew. If they find anyone outside after 10, no matter who or what they happen to be…well, the poor sap gets killed, usually vaporized or something like that." Clank suddenly shuddered at this thought. As she walked away once more, he rushed to her side, following her back to the thriving Kerchu metropolis.

As they wandered through the city, he noticed that the streets were, for the most part, empty, aside from the occasional cautious-looking Kerchu and large, gray, orange-eyed robots marching up and down the road. After carefully scanning the surrounding area, he turned to Spike and asked, "What is going on here?"

This time, the only answer he got was a sharp look in his direction, indicating him to be silent. "It's probably a good idea if you keep your trap shut until we get to my place," she whispered harshly. He wanted to inquire why, but managed to hold his tongue as one of the immense robots passed by, gazing after the two as they continued onward.

After several long, silent minutes of meandering through the city, she finally turned to her right toward a small, dome-shaped building with a circular window above the door and a short chimney sticking up from the roof on the right side. He followed her as she lifted the brown mat in front of the arced door, pulling a small key off the ground before proceeding to unlock the door and led the robot inside.

He looked around the small abode as she entered behind him, locking the door tight once she had. It was a very simple one-room residence, but she had crammed just about as many possessions as she possibly could into it. Next to the door was an old holovision set, outdated by at least a decade by the looks of it, with a worn-out brown couch in front of it. At the other side of the room was a rusted refrigerator with white countertops next to it that were stained from past spillage, as well as a leaky sink. Near the fridge was a large circular window with a ledge just big enough for someone to sit down and gaze out at the backyard, which consisted of nothing more than an old wooden outhouse. At the farright side of the room was a small fireplace that looked like it hadn't been used in ages. These were the only essential items she had in her tiny home, though wooden shelves lined every wall. Each of these shelves was overflowing with books and useless trinkets and knick-knacks, some of which had tumbled to the floor that were only there because she was too lazy to pick them up and place them back up where they belonged. Some blankets and pillows also lay strewn about the floor in front of the couch and even near the countertops.

"Excuse the mess," she said rather nonchalantly as she walked over to the refrigerator. "Make yourself at home." He looked over at the torn couch, which had a single-buttoned HV remote sitting on the armrest. After considering his decision for a brief second, he decided to take a seat and turn on the HV. Not much to his surprise, however, the picture was very fuzzy, and the only sound that emitted from the device was static. "Maybe I should've mentioned the fact that I don't get the best reception," Spike called out to him as she sifted through the fridge. After a moment, she came walking back to him with a moderately-sized block of cheese in her hand. "You eat?" she asked as she sat down next to him, offering him the food.

"Oh, no," he replied with a wave of his hand.

"Suit yourself." Shrugging, she took a large bite out of the block. He simply stared at her as she wolfed down the dairy product.

"So, what exactly _is _going on here, Spike?" Licking her fingers, she looked at him as he continued. "You said to wait until we got here. Since we are here now, do you think you could answer my question?"

"I suppose so…", she replied, smacking her lips. "Don't suppose you've ever heard of Gigatron, have you?" The robot shook his head. "Didn't think so. This dude has some serious problems. A few months ago, he just marched in here with a bunch of his troops and a commander covered from head to toe in some kind of red armor. He demanded that we give him all our resources - our gelatonium, our metals, even our weapons. When our leaders refused, he captured them and had his troops take them to some sort of prison. After that, anyone who rejected him as our 'overlord' had to answer to his little pet, the commander. They just call the commander The Shadow. No one knows what The Shadow looks like, and no one's ever been taken by it who's lived to tell about it. It's a monster, I tell you. I don't even know if it's a machine or an organic life form." After that, she stood and walked over to one of the shelves, picking up something from underneath the rubble, causing it to crash to the floor. "Not long after Gigatron and his goons showed up, I found this in the jungle." She held the trinket up for him to see. It was a large teardrop-shaped bead with shimmering light-blue liquid swirling around inside of it. The bead was strung onto a silver chain. He looked curiously at it as she slipped the necklace around her thick neck.

"So, what does this Gigatron want exactly?" Clank asked as she returned to her seat next to him.

"What any stupid villain wants," she replied with a grunt. "Galactic domination. And he's using us to bring him closer to it, that cowardly slimeball. I bet by now he's done the same thing to a dozen other species." She growled loudly, seething with anger at the very thought of the dictator and his underling. "I swear, if I just had the right firepower - POW!" He jumped several inches off the couch as she exclaimed the word suddenly, poising her fingers so that they resembled a gun and pulling her had back when she shouted. For a second, the robot could swear that his hard drive had crashed.

"I…assume he is a robot, correct?" he said once he finally composed himself.

"Figured that out from the name, eh?" she replied. He didn't respond. "Yeah, that sorry sucker's a robot. I think I heard somewhere that he was originally created by that Tachyon creep to help him take over Polaris, but he just up and ditched him somewhere in the Voron Asteroid Belt…maybe that's what made him such a bad egg." The Kerchu looked thoughtful for a second, almost as if she felt some sort of pity for the tyrant robot. She didn't say anything for a long time, not until he spoke up again, concern in his voice. "Are you…all right?" he asked.

"I have to get out of here, Clank," she replied, still staring blankly in front of her. "I have to get off this planet. There's just gotta be something better than this out there, I just know it. If I can get out…I can start a new life. Maybe I can finally amount to something." Finally, she looked back at him. "I could be a soldier in the Galactic Army…or maybe even a GrummelNet weapons designer."

"You certainly do have great expectations for yourself, Spike…"

"Perhaps too great…I don't even have enough money to buy a halfway-decent home, let alone a ship to leave this place." She sighed and shook her head. "But never mind. It's getting late, and…well, I don't know if robots get tired…" He nodded, as he was becoming rather weary. Before long, he had found it difficult to keep his green optics open. She chuckled and said, "Well then, you'd best get some sleep, tin can. You can sleep on the couch if you like, not that there's anywhere else to sleep."

"What about you?" he asked, keeping his gaze fixed on her as she walked away.

"I don't usually fall asleep until three or four in the morning, anyway," she replied as she neared the window at the back of the house. "Besides, I find the ledge to be more comfortable than that rickety old couch." She then took up some pillows and blankets from the floor in front of the fridge and set up a makeshift bed for herself. Clank wanted to object, but then saw how she distantly stared out the window at the night sky as she lay on the windowsill and thought it best not to disturb her. He picked up a stained pillow up off the floor, as well as a thick wool blanket, then made himself as comfortable as he possibly could and quickly forced himself into sleep mode.

As she stared out at the velvet sky sparkling with stars, she found herself wondering what life was like outside of Kerchu City, outside of Jasindu, and even outside of the Polaris Galaxy. Ever since she was a child, she'd wanted to find out what it was like out there. She so badly longed to see the marvels of the universe and what other planets had to offer her. This had been her life's dream for many years.

After so long of yearning to realize this dream, however, she had given up. Not just on this dream, but on any and all of them. She had dismissed the thought of dreams, convincing herself that they were nothing more than useless illusions, a subconscious pining for something more than what one had.

Dreams, delusions…was there really a difference between the two? _No…_she bitterly thought to herself. _It's all the same…none of it's real, and none of it ever will be._ Finally, she shook her head and turned her back to the windowpane, closing her eyes and forcing herself to calm down long enough to sleep.

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><p>Spike reminds me a lot of myself...except for the whole 'given up on dreams' thing.<p>

Not quite sure when I'll update next...still trying to figure out what I should do for Chapter 3, so bear with me here. :)


	3. Chapter 3: The Shadow

Wow. Is this...the second chapter I've uploaded today? O.O

Anyway, enjoy! ^^

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><p>Location: Vela Sector<p>

Ratchet stared ahead blankly as he piloted Atrion through the sector, avoiding any space trash that happened to drift by. Occasionally, the jet-black star cruiser spoke to him in a comforting voice to make sure he was okay, but for the most part, she was silent, the Lombax steering her remaining stoic.

What had seemed like ages had only been a few months that he had been searching for the white Lombax, Venus, the most important living thing to him since he had lost Clank. He rarely ever stopped his search to rest, barely eating, barely sleeping…and by now it was beginning to take its toll on him. He found himself sapped of all energy after doing the simplest tasks, such as climbing into Atrion's cockpit, but he refused to cease the search until he found her.

However, it now seemed that his search would be hindered by yet another galactic crisis. During his travels from planet to planet, he had heard of a monstrous machine by the name of Gigatron, accompanied by what people called simply 'The Shadow'. The duo had taken over almost half a dozen planets, with the help of their robotic lackeys, in the past three months alone. Orvus only knew what more damage they would do as more time passed. As much as it pained him, he had to put his search for Venus on hold for the time being and turn his attention to the notorious Gigatron. For now, he was gathering as much information about the villain as he possibly could, but unfortunately, very few knew more than which planets he had taken over.

As disheartening as this fact was, he pressed on, staying as strong as he could. He now made his way to Torren IV, hoping to find out something more about the terrible two from the Vullards of Molonoth Fields.

After entering the planet's atmosphere, he carefully landed the black ship just outside Molonoth, in the exact same spot where he had just before he met Alister Azimuth. However, when he exited the ship, he felt that something was different now - that something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt a certain tension in the air that made his skin crawl and his fur stand on end. After surveying the surrounding cliffs, he turned back to Atrion and said, "Whatever you do, don't let your guard down." After that, he turned to make his way slowly to The Hollow.

What he found most odd was that, where there were usually Vullards left and right wandering through the fields, there were none. The only sound he could hear was the howling of the wind that brushed gently against his long, fuzzy ears. Finally, he stood in front of the huge head of the decommissioned mining robot that lead to The Hollow. This time, however, it didn't speak - it didn't even move or open its eyes. This was quite concerning since, after he ended the revolt of the Battery Bots the first time he had been there, the Vullard who controlled the machine had always granted him entry, or at least spoke to him. After wondering about this for a moment, he turned to his right and made his way up to the cliff that lead to the grind rail, then slid down the rail and launched himself across the chasm and into the gaping mouth of the mining robot.

His fear had been realized; there was no one at the controls of the robot. He looked suspiciously at the control station as he passed by, cautiously making his way to the two doors that led into The Hollow.

In the room just past the first door, he finally saw a Vullard standing near the second one. It was the same Vullard that usually manned the controls of the robot, serving as The Hollow's guardian. As soon as he saw the Lombax, he jumped. "Outsider!" he cried in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"You wouldn't believe how glad I am to see you," Ratchet replied, running up to him. "I need to ask you something about-"

"There's no time for that! You can't be here now! You have to leave!"

"What? Why?"

"They're looking for you, Outsider! You can't let them find you!"

"Who is 'they', and why are they looking for me?" Suddenly, they heard stomping footsteps coming closer from the other side of the door that led into The Hollow. "Quick!" the Vullard commanded, motioning toward a large pile of crates behind him. "Hide!" Though he still hadn't gotten a straight answer, Ratchet complied and leapt behind the crates just as the door open.

"You!" came a buzzing robotic voice. He couldn't tell if it was male or female. "Who were your talking to, Vullard?" Though its gender was unclear, it was apparent that it was very serious, even angry, with the Vullard. Careful not to expose himself to the mysterious figure, he peered over one of the crates in an attempt to get a good look at it.

It was clad entirely in dark red armor, even on its face, with white lines of light running up and down its sides. It was no taller than Ratchet; on the contrary, it was a little bit shorter. On its back was an immense pair of black mechanical wings similar to those of a dragon. Its large feet were tipped with long black talons. Its tail was thick and sturdy, and ended in what almost looked like a spearhead. On its five-fingered hands, it wore a pair of tightly-fitting black gloves. Its head was streamlined, with a thick pair of horns smoothly extending backwards. In place of a pair of eyes, there was a single line of bright blue light stretching from horn to horn. Around its neck was a spiked black collar.

"I wasn't talking to anyone," the Vullard replied in a shaky voice and a fearful tone. "I sometimes talk to myself."

The figure inched closer to him, staring him menacingly in the eyes. "You're lying to me," it said in a singsong voice. "You know what happens when you lie to me…don't you?" He quivered in fear as it continued to glare at him.

Suddenly, from its right glove, a set of bright green glowing claws shot out, and as soon as they did, it thrust its hand into his chest. He gasped in pain as it took its hand back before he fell on the floor, crimson blood flowing steadily from his wound. "Worthless, incompetent swine," the figure said. Then, with a grunt, it turned back to the door and reentered The Hollow.

Once he was sure it was gone, Ratchet finally emerged from behind the crates and dashed to the Vullard's side, kneeling down next to him. He gasped at what he saw. The flesh around the gaping hole in his chest had now turned a horrific black, and the opening was quickly expanding. Something was eating away at his body.

The Lombax stared disgustedly at the sight before him for a moment, almost disbelieving what he was seeing. Then after a long moment of repulsion, he heard footsteps on the other side of the door again, only this time there was more than one set. He glanced around the room, finding nowhere to hide, then ran toward the door and leapt around the corner as the figure returned, this time with at least six of the huge gray robots in tow - the same ones that had taken Venus over three months ago. "Search the area," commanded the red-armored figure. "That insolent creature was talking to someone. He wouldn't say who."

"Yes, Commander Shadow," the six robots replied in unison before wandering around the room in search of the intruder. A single robot marched out into the dry landscape to check the surrounding land. The Shadow looked around at its underlings, disgruntled with their efforts.

Suddenly, there was a loud clang that echoed over the cliffs. As they looked toward the open doorway, they saw the robot outside flying backward, bursting into flames as it landed hard on its back. "There!" The Shadow cried, pointing outside. "Find the trespasser!" The other grunts did as they were instructed and dashed outside, their commanding officer trailing close behind.

When they got there, however, they couldn't find anyone. The only sounds were the dried weeds tumbling about along the whistling breeze. The five remaining robots looked quickly around while their leader carefully observed their environs.

Actually, the Lombax had hoisted himself onto a high cliff above the doorway, and was now looking down at the scene, hiding in plain sight. He glared down at The Shadow as it continued its sweep of the arid cliffs around them.

Then, by chance, one of the robots had looked back toward the doorway and noticed a pair of golden yellow ears above it. It looked up, then the lights on its antennae began flashing, and it emitted a boisterous siren. Just as its comrades turned their attention to him, he leapt down onto the robot sounding the alarm, landing on its shoulders. As it lurched around, he took its head in his hands and wrenched it from its shoulders. He nimbly jumped off the metal behemoth as it fell limply to the ground, it head still in his hands. Then, turning back to another one, he pitched the metal cranium at its own, smashing it in. He took his wrench in his hand and turned to the other three robots and The Shadow as the troop with the caved-in head collapsed onto the ground.

The Shadow looked from each of its three grunts, noticing that they weren't doing anything. "What are you waiting for, you idiots?" it shouted. "Get him!" All at once, they aimed their plasma cannon fingers at him. The Lombax lithely flipped off to the side, dodging the flurry of electrically-charged shots. He then quickly tore at one of the robots. Luckily for him, their reflexes were rather slow. This allowed him to jump up and slam his Omniwrench down on the top of its head. After that, he turned toward one of the remaining two and threw it at its torso, severing its top half from its bottom half. He did the same with the last one, only this time, the wrench whizzed past its head. "Ha!" The Shadow mocked. "Rotten luck, Lombax. And I thought you were such a great hero." He looked expectantly in the direction that the wrench had just flown. Suddenly, as it returned to its wielder, it slammed into the robot's head, decapitating it. The red metal dragon looked angrily from the collapsed robotic trooper to the Lombax that stood in front of it, smirking as it growled. "Very good, Lombax," it said, crouching into a battle position. "Very good indeed. But now, it's my turn!" It held out its right hand. Suddenly, a raritanium sword equal in length to its wielder materialized into its hand. On its handle was a glowing bright red sphere. "Let's see how you fare against The Shadow! Now we'll see just how great a hero you really are!"

Suddenly, it jumped toward him, sword held out in preparation to impale the Lombax. Reacting quickly, he jumped upward, and The Shadow skidded to a halt and turned around just as Ratchet swung his trusty Omniwrench at its head. It used the raritanium blade to hold the weapon at bay, then twisted it around, knocking it out of his hands before kicking him backwards. His head slammed against the wall, leaving him in a brief daze. Then, it shrieked as it jumped at him again, this time with extended claws rather than a sword in hand. The sword had been stuck down into the ground where it once stood. He remembered what the claws had done to the Vullard, and rolled out of the way just as it landed where he lay not two seconds before, its green claws becoming lodged into the rock.

He first dashed over to where his wrench lay about five feet away. Then, he turned his attention back to The Shadow as it freed its hands from the stone, facing him once more. "Not bad," it screeched. "But you'll have to do much better than that!" Jumping out of the way again as it pounced toward him, he rolled toward the raritanium sword, taking it up from the ground. Taking each of the weapons in a hand, he held them out in front of him in an attempt to intimidate the creature. His efforts failed, however. "You think you can scare me off?" it laughed. "Oh, that's rich! You certainly are a delusional Lombax, aren't you?"

After staring him down for a moment, it ran back at him at incredible speeds. He managed to make use of his catlike reflexes to dodge it and step behind it as it lunged forward. It spent a mere second trying to regain its balance, and this was just enough time for Ratchet to smash its left wing with his wrench. It shrieked in agony at an ear-piercing volume. He swung at it again, but this time, it was ready for his attack, and jumped up high, landing behind him and holding his arms behind his back, causing him to drop both weapons. "Face it, hero," it said in his ear as it twisted his arms. "You've met your match."

"Yeah, you wish, rust bucket!" he growled. Then, he snapped his head back, knocking it against the creature's single long eye, smashing it. Yet another painful screech, and it finally released him. He then grasped its left arm and flipped it over, slamming it down onto its back. It lay there stunned, groaning as its cracked vision meandered from the Lombax to the sky to anything else surrounding it. Only once he had gathered up his weapon and activated his hoverboots did its vision finally stabilize enough for it to see somewhat normally. As it quickly rose to its feet, he rocketed away back to Atrion. "This is far from over!" The Shadow screeched after him. "You will rue the day you crossed paths with me, Ratchet!" It then shook its head, turning back to the entrance to The Hollow, and said to itself, "Forget him, Shadow. You've got more important matters to tend to."

_What was all that? _Ratchet thought exasperatedly as he approached Atrion. _Gigatron's here too? _He shook his head and deactivated his hoverboots when he finally reached the black starship. The second the cockpit opened up, he jumped inside, preparing to take off.

"Warning. Warning," came the ship's electronic voice. "Hostile ships detected."

"That thing must've sent its goons after me," he grumbled. "Atrion, get us out of here."

"Where to?"

"Anywhere but here!" Following his vague instructions, she lifted into the air and immediately warped off the planet. When the ships finally arrived at where the Lombaxian ship had once been, the troops inside of them looked around curiously, using their ships' computers to scan the area for a Lombax life form. When they found there was none, one of them flew into the cosmos. "After the Lombax," it said into a communicator, which was linked to all the other ships. They followed the first up into the stars, preparing to hunt down the black ship and its pilot.

* * *

><p>I'm really enjoying this project! =D<p>

It was actually a lot of fun coming up with The Shadow's appearance. I went through a few different designs before I finally decided to make it look like a small mechanical dragon.

Funny thing about this chapter is I would've never thought of it if I hadn't been listening to some music on my computer at the time. What originally inspired this was Lonely Lullaby by Owl City. Then, as it grew more serious, I began listening to songs like Three Days Grace's Break and New Divide by Linkin Park.

Can't wait to get some future chapters posted! :D


	4. Chapter 4: Stand Together!

_Another _early-morning post! DX

I have _got _to stop downing those energy drinks...

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><p>Location: Planet Jasindu<p>

13th of September

5:32 A.M. Local Time

The next morning, Clank had awoken not long after sunrise only to find that the Kerchu he had stayed with the previous night was already wide awake and scurrying around the one-room house. "Spike?" he groaned groggily, demanding her attention as she sifted through the fridge. The bead was still around her neck. She turned around and said, "Looks like I'm not the only early bird around here, huh?"

"What are you doing? What time is it?"

"It's not even six yet. I have to get ready for work. Lucky me gets to work at the gelatonium plant." She sarcastically whirled a finger around in front of her as she rolled her eyes. "That's just one reason why I'd love to get off this planet. Work sucks, especially if all you get to do is watch machines all day and fix them on the extremely rare occasion they malfunction." She scoffed at the very notion of her excruciatingly dull occupation. "You wanna come with?" Her suggestion surprised him a little. He tilted his head as she continued. "It'd probably be a little more interesting than sitting around here all day, waiting for a ship to take you off this planet that probably won't come."

"Am I allowed to come with?" he asked, referring to the regulations that obviously came with the job.

After thinking about it for a moment, she shrugged and said, "Heck if I know. I could always lie and say it's 'Bring Your Robot To Work' day." She sheepishly scratched her head with a nervous smile.

However, he knew she was right. The day would pass by unbearably slowly if he were to remain in the tiny home all day, and if he ventured out into the city on his own, the other inhabitants would likely tear him limb from limb. After contemplating it for a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay. Just as long as you can promise me that no one will attack me."

"As long as you're with me, you're good." She turned to her right, looking around for a second, then picked up a yellow hardhat off the floor and scuttled over to the front door, making sure to grab the key off of the holovision set. Clank quickly stood and made his way to her, stepping outside into the brisk wind and early morning sunlight as she ushered him onward and followed. She was quick to lock the front door and return the key to its hiding place underneath the brown mat in front of the entrance. After that, they were off to the sprawling gelatonium plant at the north side of town.

By now, many of the inhabitants of Kerchu City were beginning to rise from their slumbers and file out of their homes, some off to work, some off to school, and some just to enjoy the day as much as they possibly could. The usual residents of the metropolis weren't the only ones wandering the streets - the large gray robots marched up and down the avenues, keeping a sharp eye out for anything "suspicious". The multitude of organic life forms cringed in fear every time one of the troops passed by or looked in their direction. Clank, after watching disbelievingly for a moment, finally said, "They seem terrified."

"They have every reason in the universe to be," Spike replied scornfully, keeping her eyes glued to the road ahead of her. At last, he looked at her. "A lot of them have been suspects in what Gigatron thinks is an uprising. What he doesn't know is that, thanks to his lackey, The Shadow, even the Kerchu are too afraid to rise up against him. But he doesn't believe that, and if he suspects someone's planning to overthrow him, then that someone is captured by his troops and tortured for information. A lot of the people around here have experienced that, and the ones that haven't have heard about it through them. Needless to say, we all do our best to seem as obedient as possible, but even that doesn't always work with that paranoid bucket of bolts." She grunted as they approached the plant.

After confirming herself with the guard and explaining to him that she couldn't think of anything else to do with Clank for the day (as well as assuring him that she would keep a very close eye on him), the two were permitted to enter the factory. It was just like all the other gelatonium plants he had seen on his previous adventures throughout Polaris - it was just bigger. A number of Kerchu could be seen wandering around the plant, all of them wearing the same yellow hardhat that Spike now had over her head. As Clank scanned the place, she took his hand and led him to her post. Her job, very simply, was to monitor one of the largest gelatonium pumps, and make repairs on it as needed. And for this, she got paid just over the minimum wage of seven bolts an hour.

It was no exaggeration to say that she hated her job with a passion.

She had explained to him that her shift ended at nine P.M., and that she got a twenty-minute lunch break at noon. The hours crept slowly by, making the day feel much longer than it actually was. Every now and then, one of her coworkers would stop to briefly talk to her (many of them inquiring about Clank), and occasionally a bolt required tightening, but aside from that, the day was uneventful. This was, however, a normal work day for Spike. Clank, on the other hand, was used to much more excitement in his daily life. More than once, he found himself dozing off while leaning against the pump.

After just over six long, agonizing hours, the twenty-minute lunch break had finally arrived. Spike had been very anxious to leave the plant, even if it weren't even for half an hour, so when that glorious sound of the bell echoed throughout the area, she dashed out the entrance as quickly as she could, Clank trailing close behind her. She planned to make the most of this brief time period - rushing home, most likely slapping together a sandwich or something else quick and easy to make, then heading back to finish her shift.

However, when they neared the square about thirty feet away from the plant, there was a gathering of Kerchu there, many of them from the gelatonium extraction facility from which she had just exited. They were all crowded around one of the towering robotic troops, as well as another figure that couldn't be seen past the throng of locals. The two looked at each other in bewilderment as they made their way to the middle of the crowd.

"Shut your traps, fleabags!" came a stern buzzing voice. In that instant, the murmur of the crowd vanished, and they all turned their attention to the two figures in front of them. "That's better," the voice continued, obviously pacing around as indicated by the sound of footsteps that could be heard clacking against the asphalt. "Now, back to what I was saying. It seems we've run into a bit of a…problem. Looks like our weapons and troops are terribly outdated and require upgrading."

"There's no way they're outdated already," Spike whispered to Clank. "They just upgraded those scraps heaps three weeks ago."

"Who is that?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice low.

"That's Gigatron's little pet I told you about…The Shadow."

One of the other Kerchu in the crowd turned around and hushed them as The Shadow continued. "Unfortunately, it also seems we've hit a bit of an economical roadblock. Master's resources have been stretched thin in the past month…even more so now that we've run into a spot of trouble with an unruly Lombax in the Breegus System."

Clank blinked in surprise. _Lombax?_

"That little pest will take out our entire fleet if this goes unchecked. So, unfortunately for all of you, my colleague and I," it motioned toward the immense robot standing next to it, "have direct orders from Master. We must raise taxes in order to earn enough money to keep our troops up-to-date." Once again, the swarm of Kerchu burst into conversation - some shocked, some angry, but most frightened. Many of the city's residents barely had enough to pay the taxes _and _purchase the bare necessities as it was. Surely, higher taxes would force thousands into the streets.

Clank looked around at the alarmed pack, then turned once again to Spike. She was growling, her fur bristling, her hands clenched tightly into fists. She looked as though she would burst due to her fury. "Um…Spike?" was all Clank could utter as The Shadow continued to drone on.

"I know some of you may not find this likeable, but-"

"Likeable?" came an infuriated screech from the middle of the crowd. All eyes, including Clank's, now fell upon the little brown Kerchu whose breathing was now shallow as her growls grew louder and louder. "How 'bout 'possible', hm?" she went on, stomping a few steps ahead of her. "Or 'feasible'? Is that the word you'd use?"

"Spike, do not-" Clank began, grabbing hold of her right arm.

She immediately wrenched it from his grip. "You honestly think we can do this? You're gonna force us all out of our homes! And what happens when we can't pay your ridiculous taxes anymore? You turn us into slaves, that's what! That's the only reason you haven't brought us all to your so-called 'Master' yet, isn't it? The only thing he's interested in is making a quick bolt while he takes over the galaxy! If he needed the upgrades that badly, he would've started taking prisoners months ago!" The throng broke into soft murmurs again. They realized that maybe she was right. Now that it had been brought up and they thought about it, it made sense. A tyrant that powerful had no need to impose taxes on the citizens of any city or planet - he could've just made everyone his slaves. This was all about money!

"I suggest you shut your trap, Kerchu, before I shut it for you!" The Shadow threatened, its green claws extending from its gloves as it menacingly stepped toward her.

"If you think threats'll shut me up, you are dead wrong!" For a long moment, the two simply glared, Spike's piercing gaze reaching into The Shadow's single optic. "You know I'm not the only one who realizes that. You know it, and I know it. That's why your master keeps taking us captive! That why he tortures us! Because he's paranoid! Because he knows we're aware of his true motives!" She turned back to face her fellow Kerchu. "He knows how strong a race is if it stands together! If that were to happen here, he'd have a full uprising on his hands! That's a battle he knows he'd lose, and that would lead to the loss of even more of his dominated races! Soon, every planet would be free from his rule!" She then looked over her shoulder at The Shadow and added, "And what_ever_ would poor Gigatron do if he didn't have a race or five to kick around?"

"Why, you insolent little-" The Shadow growled, raising a clawed hand to attack her.

However, much to its surprise and the surprise of its robot companion, one of the large, golden-yellow Kerchu stepped in front of the small brown one, its blue eyes glaring at it with hatred. Then another joined in, and another after that. Before long, everyone in the huge crowd had stepped in to challenge the red metal dragon. Clank, still standing where he had been before, couldn't bring himself to do anything more than stare in awe at the sight before him. It amazed him that she could so quickly inspire her peers to do such a thing.

The Shadow and the towering robot slowly backed away as the menacing throng inched closer to them. "Well, don't just stand there, you buffoon!" it spat at it companion. "Get us back to base!" After that, the two suddenly disappeared with a bright flash of light, leaving the masses to briefly celebrate their minor victory.

"That was pretty gutsy of you, half-pint," said the first Kerchu that had stood up against the metal menaces with her.

"Thanks!" she replied, puffing out her chest proudly.

"Unfortunately, we're likely to have a little bit of trouble with Gigatron now. We'll have to prepare the city for battle."

"Happy to help any way I can!"

"We'll need you to get any non-fighters out of the city - evacuate anyone who can't fight to a safe location outside the city, then meet me and the other fighters back here. We'll get you set up with weapons and anything else you need. You got all that?"

"Aye-aye!" She saluted him with a smile, then turned back to Clank and motioned for him to follow her. He nodded and chased after her as she trotted off to fulfill her duty.

"You ever fire a gun before, tin can?" she asked as they went about their job of evacuating the civilians from the city.

"Not…recently."

"Can you pull a trigger?"

"Yes."

"Good." She nodded, just barely satisfied with his response. "We'll need all the help we can get."

* * *

><p>Location: Korthos Sector<p>

Once he was sure that his pursuers had been lost, the Lombax finally leapt out of the ship. Atrion had been given the vague order to get them away from Planet Torren IV about six hours ago and, following that command, she had warped him to the Korthos Sector. They were just about to investigate Lumos when Ratchet realized that the starship was running out of fuel. They made a last-minute stop at the Korthos Depot to refuel. As he waited for the ship's tank to fill up, he decided to see if the two Vullards running the depot knew anything more about Gigatron.

"Sorry, Outsider," said the Vullard behind the counter. "Afraid all I know is that he just appeared out of the blue with that weird little dragon and started taking over planet after planet." When he looked to his right at the other one, that Vullard simply shrugged. The Lombax sighed, defeated. "You guys sure you can't tell me anything else about this guy?" he asked desperately. "Anything at all?"

"Afraid not," replied the Vullard manning the stand, who was now using an old rag to wipe of the countertop.

_Of course._ Ratchet thought, his ears wilting against the sides of his head.

His left ear quickly perked back up when he heard Atrion. "Incoming transmission from Talwyn Apogee," she said as her tank finally filled. With rekindled hope, he dashed over to the starship. He had tried contacting Talwyn about an hour ago, but there was no answer. Since then, he had been hoping she would call back.

"Ratchet, is that you?" came her voice over the ship's communicator.

"Yeah," he replied, sitting down in the pilot's seat in the cockpit. "Did you get my message?"

"If you mean the one about Gigatron, then yes. I can't offer you much information, but I can at least tell you what I know. I just hope it helps."

"At this point, I'll take just about anything."

"Well, if what I heard is right, he's a leftover from Tachyon's days. Apparently, he abandoned him in the Voron Asteroid Belt a few months after he finished building him."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No, but I can give you a list of the planets he's taken over, and you can check around there a bit."

"Perfect."

"Before I do…" She paused for a second, then finished, "…promise me something, Ratchet."

"Okay," he said, cocking his head as he listened to her one condition.

"Don't get yourself killed out there…"

* * *

><p>Yay! Spike does some motivational speaking! =D And Ratchet's getting closer to kicking some major Gigatron butt! *pulls out pom-poms* Go Ratchet!<p>

Ratchet: _Hyena has problems..._ T_T;


	5. Chapter 5: Assault on Kerchu City

**Okay, so the main purpose of this chapter was to give a little background information on The Shadow's master. It took me forever to get this one right, and I'm still not sure if it is or not...:/**

* * *

><p>Location: Planet Jasindu<p>

13th of September

7:01 P.M. Local Time

The two looked out contentedly at the mass of Kerchu that had gathered in the large clearing several minutes outside the city. They had spent the remainder of the day spreading the word to get all civilians out of the city and herding them to this place. Now, it was filled with those who could not fight - the children and their mothers, the elderly, and those who had been injured due to past experiences with the ruthless robots. This cut down the numbers of resistance fighters drastically, but the Kerchu had always been known as a strong race, overcoming any obstacle in their way, especially those of Kerchu City. Having first endured an assault on the metropolis by pirates during the days of the Cragmites' return, and then a massive attack from the Shraalites that had nearly razed it to the ground, they had been known as survivors among their kind.

"I believe that is everyone," Clank said as he scanned the crowd alongside the little brown Kerchu. The only response she gave him was a growl and a nod - she didn't even look at him. He turned his attention to her to see if anything was wrong. Though she tried to wear an expression of bravery and nobility, he could see the crippling fear in her neon-green eyes. "Spike? Are you all right?"

She sighed and looked down at the ground before replying, "Yeah, I guess. I'm just…not sure how this'll turn out. It sounded like a good idea this afternoon, but now that it's getting closer, I'm a little scared. I mean, I've never had any experience in actual combat before." She then looked back at him. "Is it bad?"

Though hesitant, the robot answered, "It can be…and I understand your fear, Spike. War is not a game. But I am sure you will be fine. Just do not let your guard down."

"Thanks, Clank. We should be heading back into the city now, though. Our weapons have been pretty limited since those two rust buckets came here." He nodded and followed her as she turned to make her way back when they suddenly heard a loud explosion, followed by the sound of a fleet of space cruiser. They quickened their pace, Clank sprinting and Spike rolling in her globular armor, neither one of them needing to say anything to the other until they reached the city. When at last they reached its edge, their fears had been realized.

Already, the thriving metropolis was under siege. Buildings ablaze, streets fissured, battle cries echoing across the land, bouncing off every wall. Above the city, they could see hundreds of space cruisers - each one long, narrow, painted silver with red accents along the edges of the wings, and large enough to carry at least five of the large robot troops that now stormed the city - and as the seconds passed, more of them swarmed in from above.

Approaching quickly behind was an immense warship. Like the smaller space cruisers that flew past building after building, destroying every one of them, it was long and narrow in structure. Unlike them, however, it was only pitch-black, and from the top near its middle protruded a cylindrical object, which Clank assumed to be a device that would cloak the ship in space, causing it to blend in with the stars around it. On each long, triangular wing were what seemed to be three giant plasma cannons, each one with enough firepower to decimate several city blocks in a single shot. At the pointed front was a domed observatory deck, from which they could see a pair of glowing red eyes.

"This can't be happening already!" Spike gasped as they stared out at the destruction and chaos that sprawled before them. "I though we'd at least have until tomorrow morning!"

"Thing are going to get even worse," Clank said. "I am picking up more on their way. Point of origin appears to be that warship."

"Come on, Clank!" She suddenly looked very determined. "We have to get down there! They need us!" He nodded and followed her as she rolled into the city.

"First thing we need to do is find weapons!" she said. "Anything! I don't care where they come from!" They looked frantically around, hoping to at least find a simple blaster of some kind. After a moment, they noticed a slain Kerchu lying on the pavement, a yellow blaster in its hand. Near it was the severed arm of one of the robotic troops, with a plasma cannon finger still intact. "You take the blaster!" Spike exclaimed, running toward the arm. An idea had presented itself in her mind.

"What about you?" Clank asked as he retrieved the gun from the dead Kerchu's hand. When he looked back at her, he saw the arm she had picked up. Looking it over, she slipped a hand inside, holding it steady with her other hand as she pointed it to a building on her left. "I wonder if I could-"

Suddenly, she felt something click inside - a switch that she had inadvertently tripped - and from the tip of the finger, a huge crackling orb of plasma came shooting out, hitting the wall and blowing a hole in it easily large enough to fit an Agorian Hydra Tank through. She gasped at the simple weapon's massive firepower as they stared in awe at the wall, then at the arm. "Now, that's power!" Spike said, raising it above her head. She then turned back to the robot and motioned for him to follow her. He nodded, already knowing that they needed to do as much as they possibly could to help with the invasion.

The troops they now faced seemed to be far more powerful than any that had come before them. They looked exactly the same, but the plasma cannons had obviously been modified with new ion coils to make their attacks even stronger, and they were now protected by a thick armor of raritanium. Even from the intense shots from Spike's "borrowed" weapon, it took at least three shots to kill just one. As they continued to fight off the attackers, more and more Kerchu fell in defeat. Bodies of the deceased lay piled alongside the streets and buildings. Others that weren't quite as unfortunate were being taken prisoner by the troops, lifted back up to the warship by devices that resembled cages - except rather than bars, currents of electricity kept them trapped - with jets on the bottoms.

But no matter what the two faced, they knew they couldn't give up. Though in their minds they knew they were greatly outnumbered, they pressed on, felling any enemy that stood in their way.

Little did they know, they were being watched. From atop one of the only buildings still standing, The Shadow glared down at them, a low growl emitting from its throat._ So…_ it thought disdainfully. _You think you can stop Master, do you? _After a moment, it spread its wings and prepared to leap. _My grunts may be easily taken care of…but let's see how well you fight against their leader!_

"Spike, we cannot keep this up forever!" Clank said, exhausted from the constant fighting.

"We don't have to keep it up forever, Clank!" she replied, looking over her shoulder at him. "Just long enough!" Then suddenly, she gasped and shouted, "Look out!" before jumping toward him and pushing him several feet back. They landed hard on the ground, Clank on his back and Spike on him, as something pounded on the earth where they once stood. After a dazed second, they finally got to their feet and looked at the figure.

Standing there, crouched on the ground with its back turned to them, was The Shadow, cracks radiating in the asphalt from where it stood. When it turned to face them, it single optic had turned from a bright blue to a frightening blood red, and its growls grew louder and louder until they finally turned to loud, screeching roars. Its furious shrieks shattered any windows that had remained intact, and when it was finally finished, Spike's ears (and Clank's auditory receptors) rang in an annoyingly high pitch.

"You fools!" its screeched at them as they staggered, their heads pounding from its cries. "Just when I though you could get no more senseless! You will curse yourselves for this!" It then extended its bright green claws from its gloves. "I'm going to take great pleasure in destroying the two of you…as slowly and painfully as I possibly can!"

"What do you want with this place?" Spike demanded. "Is gelatonium really worth killing people?"

At first, the beast replied only with a chuckle, then said, "You think this is all about your gelatonium plants? How naïve could you possibly be, Kerchu?" The two looked at it in shock. "This is about making those who caused Master his pain to suffer, just like he did! That worthless runt, Tachyon, abandoned him, his own creation, for the Drophyds! Master was hurt - he didn't understand why his creator would abandon him like that when all he did was try to make that puny Cragmite happy! Eventually, that _thing _had turned every being in the galaxy against him, exiling him to the furthest reaches of Polaris.

"At first, Master was simply hurt and confused. He wanted answers, but by the time he had the opportunity to get them, that worthless furball Ratchet had already vanquished Tachyon. Soon, Master's confusion turned to anger and hatred! He spent all his time from that point on trying to build up an army strong enough to make those who caused him so much suffering pay! And now, all beings of Polaris will pay for what they've done! The Kerchu, the Fongoids, the Drophyds…every last one of them will be under Master's rule!"

"Over my dead body, you rusting bucket of bolts!" Spike spat venomously.

"Funny, Kerchu…I was just thinking the exact same thing!" Growling, Spike quickly aimed the plasma cannon at the monster and fired, only for it to fly straight into yet another wall as The Shadow jumped out of the way and toward the two, claws extended. As it drew closer, she swung the arm at it. It was too late for the metal dragon to dodge the attack, and she hit it square in its face with a loud _crack_, knocking it off to the left. The little Kerchu glared at the thing as it slid across the hard ground, lying still for a brief moment before getting up as if nothing had happened. The left side of its face was now fissured slightly, and some of the cracks reached up to the corner of its optic. "You think you can stop me, furball?" it snapped, stepping slowly closer to them. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"

"I can't believe you think we'd just let you get away with this!" Spike barked in response. "You're the naïve one, Shadow, not me!" Apparently, the Kerchu had offended her opponent, because as soon as she finished her sentence, the beast roared at an ear-piercing volume and ran back at her, unsheathing its raritanium sword and swinging at her violently. She lithely dodged each attempted blow, jumping to the left, then to the right, and repeating this several times before the blunt edge of the blade hit her foot. Knocked askew, she fell to her left side, her arm cracking under her weight combined with that of the robotic arm still on her right hand. She screamed in pain as she tried to move it, but when she did, it was as if there were shards of glass embedded in her shoulder.

Seeing the Kerchu's struggling, The Shadow came up to her and pointed the blade at her throat, poised to kill. "You poor, delusional creature," it said, pressing the tip of the blade closer to her neck, piercing it slightly and drawing some blood. "You try so hard to defend your pathetic city…only to be killed before you could even come close to victory."

Suddenly, as it chuckled at her, a shot from a blaster hit its optic. It screeched in agony as sparks flew from it, then looked in the direction the shot had come from. Standing there, his finger still on the trigger, was Clank with a smoking blaster. He glared his contempt toward the metal beast, whose only response was a furious roar. "You waste of technology!" it screamed as loudly as it could. At that moment, its wings began crackling with electricity, and it stepped over Spike and toward him. "You're too brave for your own good, robot!"

Almost too quickly for him to react, the monster began using the electrified wings as large blades, swiping at him repeatedly. Somehow, he managed to dodge every one of its attacks by stepping back. Soon, however, he back into a wall and couldn't dodge the way he had been. The Shadow stopped its flurry of attacks for a moment and looked down at him. "Any last words?" it asked. He was about to speak when something came rushing toward it from behind. At that moment, he closed his mouth and smirked at the dark red figure, who looked rather confused at him.

Suddenly, with a fierce cry, Spike jumped onto its shoulders from behind, grasping its neck with her right hand. It thrashed about in an attempt to shake her of, but to no avail. Shifting her grip from its neck to its head, she slipped her large fang into one of the cracks in its optic and bit down a bit before she realized she had punctured something as it screeched in pain. When she removed her fang, she saw that it was tipped with blood. "Clank!" she said as its thrashing grew stronger and it moved toward another building. "This thing's not a robot!" Right after that, it slammed its shoulders against the building, crushing Spike between metal and stone. She finally released her grip and fell limply to the ground.

"You've messed with me for the last time, Kerchu!" it roared, raising its green claws.

At that moment, two large yellow beams shot down at the ground in between them. The Shadow leapt back to dodge the fire and looked up. Flying toward them was a blue starship, accented with bright blue lights. Its nose was split in two. What the beast found most odd was that there was no pilot inside.

"Aphelion!" Clank shouted as the ship settled on the ground near Spike. She wearily looked up at the Lombaxian starship as The Shadow backed away, obviously intimidated by a ship with a mind of its own. It growled for a second as Aphelion prepared for yet another attack.

"You can't stop me!" it said, not only to the starship, but also to the Kerchu and robot. "If Ratchet himself couldn't, what makes you think you could?" Before anyone could say anything more, it leapt up and flew high above the city, holding its arms straight out at its sides as it hovered in place. Then, its body began glowing with an intense red light, and its wings stopped flapping, but it somehow remained suspended in the sky as dark clouds formed overhead. Wings spread and crackling with more electricity than before, it gave a shriek that echoed through the landscape. When it did, lightning bolts began striking the ground, and gale-force winds began gusting through the city. As the lightning reached the earth, its force worsened the fissures that had already been made by the attackers. The robots' space cruisers flocked away from the city, returning to the warship.

As Clank ran over to Spike and Aphelion, tremors violently shook the area. The Kerchu looked in horror at the place that she had always known to be her home as it came crashing down. "Spike!" he called, catching her attention. She turned around as Aphelion's hatch opened and Clank leapt into the pilot's seat. "Hurry! We must leave!" After one final look at her home, she nodded and jumped into the seat next to him, staring outside as the ship closed and lifted into the air.

She knew The Shadow and its troops had done some decent damage, but she never would've imagined that they had decimated the entire city. There was almost no building left standing, no Kerchu left alive in the streets. And now, the troops had found the civilians that had been hidden away in the thick jungle. The ones that weren't killed were hauled back to the warship. Somehow, Spike couldn't help but feel responsible for the attack.

Clank looked worriedly at the little Kerchu as she sank back in her seat, tears forming in her green eyes. "Spike?" he asked. No answer. He sighed and reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. "I…understand how you must be feeling. I doubt this is easy for you to accept, but…"

"I've always wanted to leave that place," she sobbed. "To see what the universe has to offer… I never wanted to leave like this…" She looked back outside as they left the planet's atmosphere. The destruction of Kerchu City was still visible, even from such a distance. "Just like that…" she began, her voice now marked with a trace of anger. "…my life's been flipped upside-down." Clank cocked his head in confusion, but jumped when she turned around, her eyes filled with fury. "They're not getting away with this, Clank! I'll rip that rust bucket limb from limb!"

"Spike, I think you are getting ahead of yourself…"

"Ahead of myself? That monster destroyed everything I'd ever known to be the safe zone! And you're saying I'm getting ahead of myself?"

"Spike, please. You must be rational. There is no way we can face The Shadow along with its underlings _and _its master." Finally, her expression softened, and she sighed and turned her gaze to the floor. "All right, then," she said. "What do you propose we do?"

"There is only one thing_ to_ do. We must find Ratchet."

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><p><strong>You didn't think I was gonna kill of Aphelion for good now, did you? She's one of my favorite characters in the game! XD<strong>

**Like I said before, I'm not entirely sure if this turned out right, but here it is. I'm gonna go listen to music and hope for some more inspiration now. :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Join or Die

**OMG, another short chapter!**

**Yes, I know, but oh well. That's just the way things go, I guess.**

**EDIT: Fixed a mistake I found in this chapter. Instead of Torren IV, I had said that Ratchet had fought The Shadow and its lackeys on Lumos, when actually, he hadn't gone to Lumos in this one. Somehow, I always manage to get the Vullard planets confused (tell me I'm not the only one who has this problem...^^; ).**

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><p>Location: Praxus Sector<p>

"Clank, I'm telling you, it's broken!" Spike growled as the robot carefully examined her left arm. She'd been trying to convince him for the last ten minutes that it was broken from the impact of her fall during the assault on Kerchu City. All the same, he insisted he have a look at it to make sure. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she backed away with a grunt of pain. "Spike, please," he said calmly. "I need to have a look at it." Reluctantly, she eased back into her seat and allowed him to inspect her injured shoulder.

After a moment, he looked back at her face, still twisted in pain, and said, "The good news is it is not broken - it is dislocated, but can be easily remedied. The bad news is-"

"It's gonna hurt like heck to snap it back into place…" she groaned. He sighed and nodded. "Wonderful…"

"I am going to need to push up on your arm in order to relocate it." He took her left hand in his and placed his right hand on her right shoulder. "I will not lie to you - this is going to be very painful…"

"Just do it." She clenched her teeth and braced herself. Then, with all the strength he could manage, he pushed up against her arm. It moved back into place with a loud _pop_, forcing an agonized scream from the Kerchu. After writhing in pain for a moment, she sat back again, breathing heavily. When she wearily looked back at him, he was rummaging around behind the seats for something. "What are you doing now?" she panted.

"I need to find something to use as a sling for your arm," he replied, still searching. Finally, he turned back to her holding a black cloth in his hand. As gently as he could, he tied it around her right shoulder and placed her left arm in it. "It is certainly not the best, but at least it will help."

"Thanks, Clank…" She paused for a moment to catch her breath, then continued. "I just have one question… How do you plan on finding ol' what's-his-name?"

"Ratchet."

"Yeah, that one."

He didn't reply before he turned to the dashboard and spoke. "Aphelion, try contacting Ratchet. If he is traveling from planet to planet, he may be using Venus's ship."

"I am sorry… My memory banks seem to have been damaged. I no longer have a record of any starship's signature…" Clank sighed in defeat. Unfortunately, he didn't know Atrion's signature either. "It looks like we are just going to have to search for him…" He looked back at Spike and noticed her almost distrusting expression. "What?" he said with a shrug.

"Because I feel sorry for you," she began, "I'll help you find your friend. After that, I'm going after Gigatron and his pet. I'm not gonna hang around with you and the Lombax. More than likely…you'll never see me again after that." He looked blankly at her for a second, then nodded empathetically. He understood her rage, but wished she wouldn't be so headstrong. However, he had had many past experiences with the Kerchu - not all of them pleasant, of course - and if there was one thing he knew about them, it was that there is no reasoning with a Kerchu. "How exactly are we gonna find him, anyway?"

"If it helps," Aphelion chimed in, "I'm picking up multiple distress signals from Rykan V."

"Is Gigatron is there, then he is probably after the lava refineries," Clank said. Spike understood him - she knew as well as he did that the lava refineries of the planet were the main source for most of the metals in the most advanced armor in the galaxy. Still, there was something she didn't understand. "Okay…" she began, "but what does that have to do with your furry friend exactly?"

"If Ratchet knows that Gigatron is there, then he may either be on his way there on be there already. If I know Ratchet, then I know that much is true."

"I sure hope you're right, tin can." She turned back to face the stars again. Clank sighed and shook his head as he scooted back to the other side of the ship. He understood her sudden rage…he only wished she wouldn't act on it.

Location: Planet Cobalia

14th of September

1:37 P.M. Local Time

_Run. _That one simple word repeated itself in the Lombax's mind thousands of times as he dashed through the overgrown swamps of Cobalia. Several hours prior, he had landed Atrion outside the spaceport and made his way through the wilderness, only to find that The Shadow had carried out Gigatron's command to take it over, targeting its gelatonium plant. Its robotic minions ran rampant throughout the bridges that connected the various platforms, capturing as many civilians as they possibly could.

Of course, Ratchet being Ratchet, he had attempted to fight the monstrous machines, only to be overpowered by them. They were much stronger this time than they had been when he fought them back on Torren IV. He wouldn't be running if he had a halfway-decent weapon at hand, but unfortunately, all he had was his Omniwrench, and that barely seemed to be doing any damage to the behemoths.

He knew he would be safe once he reached Atrion. Her weapons would easily be enough to destroy them with a single well-aimed shot.

The word echoed through his mind once more as he nimbly leapt from stone to stone, making his way through a particularly large swamp. _Run, Ratchet. Don't look back._

Finally, he reached the clearing where he had left the Lombaxian starship…only to find out that he wasn't the first one to arrive there. Standing in front of her were perhaps a dozen of the troops, accompanied by their ruthless leader. Atrion had apparently been incapacitated - one of the silver space cruisers had attached a tether to her and was now towing her away, and she was doing nothing about it. Now, the metal dragon slowly and menacingly stepped toward him, its arms crossed. "Take one final look, my comrades," it said, motioning toward the Lombax with the soft swipe of a wing. "for this will be the last time you will see such a rare sight as a Lombax in the dimension!"

"I managed to escape you once, Shadow!" Ratchet spat venomously at the monster.

"Yes, my dear Lombax," it retorted, looking over its fingers. "But if memory serves, you still had your ship that time. Now, your precious starship is the rightful property of Master!" He scowled at it as he imagined what its leader would do with her - most likely either destroy her or somehow turn her to his side and force her to do his dirty work.

"So," it began, taking yet another step toward him. "Are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way? You can either come quietly and I'll let Master decide what to do with you…or you can fight a battle you know you'll lose. The choice is yours, Ratchet."

"I'd rather die than give in to you!"

It sighed and shook its head at his decision. "What a shame…" it muttered. "Master might've let you live in exchange for your services…perhaps you could've been commander someday." Right after that, it quickly extended its claws from its hands. "You've just signed your own death warrant, Ratchet!" Without warning, it leapt at him, taking a slash at him, but luckily missing and merely scratching his helmet. The attack, however, had still knocked him off balance, and he fell to the soft earth, a little dazed from the blow to his head.

After a moment, he looked back up at it…and just in time, too. As he did, he saw the menace quickly lunging its claws downward, this time aiming for his neck. He rolled out of the way just before its attack landed, causing the green claws to dig into the ground. Its moment of disablement had opened a window of opportunity for the Lombax to strike back. He kicked it hard in its left side, then the second it rose back to its feet, he swung his wrench at its face, hitting its right side.

The robotic troops stepped in to help as it fell onto its back, but then, it reached out to them, commanding, "Do nothing! He's mine!" Obeying their master's command, they stepped back several feet as it launched itself back onto its feet. It crouched menacingly as the two glared at each other. "Face it, Ratchet!" it shrieked. "There's no defeating Master! If you were wise, you'd join us instead of resisting us!" He didn't say anything in response, but continued his glowering, keeping his wrench held out in front of him.

Then, it quickly unsheathed its sword from its hip and lunged at him in an effort to skewer him, but he blocked the attack, holding it at bay with the wrench. It moved slightly closer to him until its face was mere inches from his. "Is this how you want it to end, Lombax?" it shouted. "Is this how you want to die?"

"I'd rather die fighting against you," he began, "than live fighting alongside you!"

"Then allow me to grant you that final wish!" At a blinding speed, it swung its sword around in a circle, ripping the wrench from Ratchet's grasp, then grabbed him by his shoulders and slammed him up against a nearby tree. With one hand, it held him there; with the other, it held its blade against his neck. He glared back down at it, obviously unafraid of the eminent death that lay before him.

But it did nothing.

It simply stood there and stared at him for a long moment, almost as if in thought. His expression of anger turned to one of confusion. "Commander Shadow?" came the voice of one of its underlings. This seemed to snap it out of its self-induced trance - as soon as it heard its voice, it growled loudly and slammed Ratchet's head against the tree trunk, knocking him out. When it finally let him go, he fell limply to the ground. It stared down at him for a second before another one of its troops spoke up again. "You are going to finish it, are you not?" it said.

The Shadow remained silent for a long moment before finally replying. "No…" it said. "I believe Master would want him alive…" It then began walking away as one of the space cruisers landed softly in front of it. "Someone take him. Master will be most pleased."

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><p><strong>I may decide to go back and redo this chapter later, but for now, it stays as is.<strong>

**I go wait for inspiration now... :)**


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